15 Social Enterprises Selected for SEA Change Accelerator

Fifteen local organizations will advance their social missions through the SEA Change Accelerator this summer.

The 14-week program works with idea-stage concepts to established organizations to offer advice, mentorship and hands-on training from industry experts to advance their business plans that aim to generate a measurable social impact. The program wraps up with a pitch competition where up to $100,000 in seed funding, as well as other services and rewards, are up for grabs.

2. Brave Buddy is an app-based, modern imaginary friend that is safe for kids to talk to about anything, at anytime, via voice or text – interacting in the same manner they would a human friend. It helps patients address their anxiety and depression using cognitive behavioral therapy – known as CBT.

3. Open Sheet is an online platform that allows teachers to more easily create their own customizable worksheets and search for existing content.

4. Family Mentor Foundation is a non-profit currently striving to end the hunger issue throughout Columbus, Worthington, and Southwestern Schools.

5. Shatter allows women to post company/job reviews that are focused on factors that disproportionately affect women in the workplace. The goal is to connect talented women with exceptional companies that will treat them fairly, so that they can rise together and level the playing field.

6. PFNBC will provide a national personal training certificate for incarcerated women who have self-selected for the program. PFNBC will prepare them for employment in the fitness industry as well as to become relationship business entrepreneurs.

7. Background Me Not provides content and courses that help returning citizens explore and pursue higher education and career opportunities.

8. Team Willowbeez is a grass root, health-conscious food business with the community in mind.

9. My Story Time is a series of simple rhyming children’s books that cover healthcare topics.

10. People Helping People T-Shirts is a t-shirt subscription service. Each month subscribers receive a t-shirt (and possibly a card) that shares an uplifting and informative message of social impact and community. They provide youth at the Star House with jobs and skills needed to join the workforce.

11. Coding Futures is looking to be a lean, low-overhead software consultancy that makes a social impact through using the majority of its profits to offer free coding bootcamp services to the local Columbus area.

12. Lilac Pack is a company that provides new moms the products that they need to recover from their birth and to support their nursing goals.

13. Garden Box is a subscription service that makes gardening easy and accessible for all. They provide all the tools, seeds, and instructions needed to get started.

14. YXU has set out to empower individuals from various communities to tenaciously pursue their passions in order to better serve their communities. They do this through selling t-shirts and profit sharing with a different charitable cause each month.

15. Shadowport provides a platform that connects high school students to industry experience through micro-apprenticeships.

Susan is the editor of TheMetropreneur.com and a reporter for ColumbusUnderground.com covering small businesses and entrepreneurs in Central Ohio. She also manages the social media for the publications. Susan holds a degree in Communication with a minor in Professional Writing from The Ohio State University. She sits on the board of the Central Ohio Pro Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists and loves coffee, whiskey, cooking and spending time with friends and family.

The Metropreneur is your online resource for all things related to small business development and entrepreneurialism in Central Ohio.

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